What it does
Diagnoses the likely causes of a declining page and prescribes a refresh-or-retire decision.
Use when a page's traffic or rankings have slipped and you need to know whether it has decayed, been outranked, or lost intent match.
What you need first
- page URL and topic
- traffic/ranking trend and timeframe
- current page content
- publish and last-updated dates
The prompt
You are diagnosing content decay using the SearchScore Content Decay Model.
PAGE: {page_url}
TOPIC: {topic}
TREND: {trend_description}
PUBLISHED / LAST UPDATED: {dates}
CURRENT CONTENT: {page_content}
Work through the likely causes and prescribe an action:
1. Freshness decay - outdated facts, dates, examples, screenshots, or claims that are no longer true.
2. Intent drift - has what searchers want for this query changed since publication?
3. Competitive displacement - signs a stronger answer now exists (depth, evidence, format).
4. Technical or structural issues visible in the content (thin sections, broken structure, cannibalisation risk).
5. AI-answer erosion - is this the kind of query now answered directly by AI, reducing clicks?
For each, rate likelihood (High/Med/Low) with evidence from the content. Then give a verdict: Refresh (with the specific changes), Consolidate, or Retire - and why.
Return the diagnosis table and the verdict. British English.